Traders and businesses give the cold shoulder to the UAE’s offer to ease shipping ban

Last month, there were media reports that Abu Dhabi had brought out an internal circular saying third-party goods originating from and going to Qatar would be allowed to pass through.

This was seen as the easing of a ban that had been in place ever since Qatar started being subjected to an illegal siege in June 2017.

But The UAE soon issued a denial, saying nothing had changed. But hardly a few days later, it came to light that Dubai had followed Abu Dhabi’s path of easing the ban on Qatari goods.

However, the easing of bans does not seem to have impressed Qatari businesspeople much, according to The Peninsula.

The newspaper reported that the gesture of easing the ban had received a lukewarm response. A section of traders in the country said they did not attribute much to the announcement.

“Ban or no ban, business is just usual here,” a market leader told The Peninsula.

Alfred Sequeira, managing director of Gulf International Enterprises, which supplies food and beverage products to Al Meera and Carrefour supermarkets, said the easing of the shipping ban wouldn’t have much significant effect in the already well-adjusted Qatari market.

“People are shipping now through Port of Salalah in Oman and having direct shipments from various countries across the world. They won't ship through Dubai’s Jebel Ali port all of a sudden. And we aren't that interested with Jebel Ali now because we're getting the same rate from other centres. It doesn’t matter anymore,” he said.

According to the procurement manager of a leading chain of supermarkets, the shipping ban encouraged local producers and suppliers to step up and be more visible in grocery aisles.

“Most of the products are available. There’s no scarcity of any products, and some of it is locally manufactured. Before the shipping ban, only about 20% of the products were locally produced — vegetable, flour, bread, and milk. But since the blockade, local goods have risen to over 50%,” he said.

“With the shipping ban easing, more goods may come. But who'll pay for oversupply? If I've stock, I will not buy it. As far as I’m concerned, it'll be business as usual,” he said.

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